This book contains the papers presented at the International Conference
on Comparative Physiology held at Crans-sur-Sierre in September 1976.
One of the strengths of the comparative approach to physiology is that
one can find out from a range of organisms what is fundamental about
solving any particular physiological problem. This is often shown most
clearly when the organisms selected are those that are faced with the most
extreme physiological stresses. For example， because of their small size
terrestrial arthropods face daunting problems of water economy; some of
them achieve the impressive feat of absorbing water vapour from the air.
Chapters in the first part of this book describe the fascinating ways in
which this is achieved by different organisms. We were fortunate enough
to have papers from all the leading workers in this new and intriguing field.
Other articles in the first section describe recent advances in the thorny
problem of how water movements across epithelia are generated by
solute movements.
The theme of the second section of the book is animals under the stress
of living in ionically extreme or unbalanced environments. Included are
accounts of how bacteria， crustaceans， insects， fishes and birds cope with
unusual difficulties in ionic regulation.
In the final section we have， as in our previous conferences， brought
together biologists and physicists to illuminate a particular topic. This time
the spotlight was turned on the role of fluid mechanics in biology. The
biologists described various sorts of fluid flows occurring both inside and
around the outside of organisms and covered such topics as ciliary and
flagellar beating， hydrostatic skeletons and insect flight. These papers were
most satisfyingly complemented by more theoretical ones on the underlying
hydrodynamics and aerodynamics involved.
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